. >> the policies that the republicans have offer -- are offering right now are the exact policies that got us into this mess. >> i think it just shows how out of touch the white house is. the american people are asking the question, where are the jobs? >> over the coming midterm election. >> what i'm going to remind the american people of is the policies that we have put in place have moved us in the right direction. >> no apologies for opposing the stimulus, no apologies for opposing the health care. no apologies for opposing what they call the wall street bill. gwen: and a sensational and distracting threat from an obscure florida pastor. >> we are simply burning a book. >> it doesn't in any way represent america or americans or american government or american religious or political leadership. >> we have to make sure that we don't start turning on each other. gwen: we'll put the roller coaster week in context with jackie calmes of "the new york times," david wessel of "the wall street journal" and michael duffy of "time" magazine. >> award-winning reporting and analysis. covering history a

the value voters summit. >> the elite don't get us, they call us wacky, they call us wing nuts, we call us "we the people." gwen: defeated republicans like delaware's mike castronevesle, bob bennett and murkowski are trying to figure out what happened. and also arlen specter and struggling incumbents like ohio governor ted strickland and president obama himself who knows he must convince voters the economy can improve. >> we stop the bleeding, stabilize the economy but the fact of the matter is the pace of improvement is not where it needs to be. and the hole we had dug ourselfs in was enormous. gwen: the scary truth appears to be rattled voters appear to lash out at lots of people for lots of reasons. let's go through some of the reasons here, panel. starting with you, john. >> the economy. i'll take the easiest, biggest target, the economy is bad and affecting people in their lives and if it's not affecting them it's affecting somebody in their lives and everybody is anxious. in this time of anxiety they turn to washington and see people they dislike, distrust and are just bafoons. and t

's oval office address provided a useful prame this week that was supposed to be about iraq but it was about so much else, including the economy, uncertain foreign policy and politics. why is august never a good month for barack obama? now we are safely in september, the question must be asked. >> you detected the pattern haven't you. he has had difficulties in augusts and ended this one in a very busy week. when he gave that speech in the oval office, he talked about turning the page. what he meant to convey is, it's time now to focus on the economy. but as that speech showed, the tension in that speech as he was trying to deal with a lot of issues at once underscored the political problems that he and the democrats and the administration have. i mean, he said the economy is my principal responsibility as president. that's why we want to turn the page. but turning the page, let's just start with iraq. yes, the combat mission is over. we still have 50,000 troops in iraq. we will have a troop presence there until the end of next year. violence has not gone. it has been down,

distractions can one white house handle? including at the u.n. >> some sectors of the u.s. government orchestrated the attack to reversion the declining american -- reverse the declining american economy. gwen: on the senate floor. >> the appeal of don't ask-don't tell is an appeal to the gay and lesbian base. gwen: finger pointing on parade. covering the week, jackie calmes of "the new york times." naftali bendavid of "the wall street journal." tom gjelten of n.p.r. and nancy youssef of mcclatchy newspapers. >> award winning reporting and analysis covering history as it happens. live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week with gwen ifill." produced in association with national journal. funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> we know why we're here. >> to connect our forces to what they need, when they need it. >> to help troops see danger. before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the brave and bring them safely home. >> around the globe, the people of boeing are working together to support and protect all who serve. >> that's why we're here. >> funding fo

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